PARKWAY DRIVE Sept 2007

By the time you read this, Parkway Drive will be days away from celebrating the release of their second album with their first Australian tour in a year.

Vocalist Winston McCall admits that they have neglected their home country over the past year, spending most of their time in the States with tours also taking them to the UK and Europe.

“We’ve been away so much and we’ve kind of ignored Australia a bit over the last year or so,” he said.

Forming in 2003, Parkway Drive have accomplished in four years what most bands hope to do in a life time.

Growing up listening to punk rock bands like Bad Religion, Pennywise and NOFX has had a profound influence on Parkway Drive’s sound.

According to McCall, “They’re the bands that made the biggest impact on my life.”

The boys from Byron Bay and their hardcore/metal/punk (whatever you want to call it) music has taken them around the world, building them a dedicated fan base along the way.

McCall and his band mates Ben Gordon (drums), Jeff Ling and Luke Kilpatrick (guitar) and Jia ‘Pipey’ O’Connor (bass) have just returned to home soil after a month long stint on the Vans Warped Tour in the US.

As the only Australian band on the line-up, Parkway Drive made the most of the opportunity to play to new crowds.

According to McCall, “The experience was totally different from anything we’ve ever done before. It was like being in a travelling music circus.”

The opportunity to play with over 100 bands in over 30 cities was, according to McCall a once in a lifetime experience.

“American kids seem to go pretty agro. They have a lot of aggression to get out and more than once we had to stop to break up fights.”

“I think they were under the impression that because we were from Australia, they might not get to see us again so they made the most of it which was cool.”

Playing alongside bands including Bad Religion, Pennywise and New Found Glory, was a dream come true for McCall.

“Being able to play with so many bands I’ve loved for so long and being able to watch them every day was awesome.”

With hundreds of bands and even more crew, McCall recalls the daunting task of trying to remember everyone’s names.

“It came to the point where you’d meet someone, then five minutes later you’ve met 10 other people and you’ve forgotten the other person’s name.”

“So it came to the point where everyone just gave up on names. At times it was a bit awkward but still good.”

Playing shows everyday, watching your favourite bands and touring around America is what every band dreams of. But surely there have to be downsides to being a part of Warped Tour.

“The heat in America was probably the worst thing. It was around 40 degrees every day and people didn’t understand what we were complaining about. They think it’s that hot in Australia all the time.”

“But other than that there is nothing to complain about because you get fed, you get driven everywhere and you get to play and see all these amazing bands.”

Parkway Drive’s energetic blend of punk and metal built them up a reputable fan base at Warped Tour and according to McCall, they didn’t have a problem with people who might not have been their fans.

“The thing with Warped was if people didn’t like your band they moved on because there were so many bands playing at once there was always something for someone.”

With around 10 stages running at the same time, Parkway Drive were one of the bands that stood out.

“If people hadn’t heard us before and they did stumble across us they really liked what they heard. We got a lot of good feedback from the tour and people watching us.”

Music festivals all over the world are renowned for being full of strange sights. Interesting fashions are the most common, but in Parkway Drive’s case, it’s lucky they’re still alive.

“While we were playing in Cleveland an enormous storm hit. Apparently there was a tornado down the road.”

“We hid in our van and when we came out after the storm 100 merchandise tents had been blown down and destroyed and three kids had been struck by lightning.”

After that little episode, Parkway Drive continued on their way showcasing new material to thousands of fans.

Having just completed recoding their follow up album to ‘Killing With ‘Smiles’ in Massachusetts, ‘Horizons’ is the album that will set Parkway Drive Apart from the rest.

“It’s the same sound as ‘Killing With Smiles’ in the sense that it still sounds like Parkway Drive. But we have tried not to write the same record twice.”

“With ‘Horizons’ there are differences in there and we did endeavour to put them in, but at the same time there are similarities.”

Parkway Drive have progressed in their song writing and they have tried to look less to other bands for inspiration and more to themselves.

“We try and step forward every time we write an album and it may not be hugely noticeable to other people but for us this has always been a challenge.”

‘Horizons’ was produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz who has also worked with the likes of……

“We’ve got to work with him twice now so we’re really good friends. I think when you work with someone you know and you’re friends with it makes it a hell of a lot easier.”

“He worked us really hard to make sure everything was the best it could be. He makes it easier because he’s very encouraging and instead of being half arsed about everything he just pushes you as opposed to bringing you down.”

Parkway Drive are not planning anything big to celebrate the release of ‘Horizons’ on October 6th. They’re just looking forward to coming home.

“The celebration for us is getting to play Australia again. I can’t wait to come home.”

Parkway Drive will be hitting the road in October for a national tour with special guests The Warriors (USA), Her Nightmare and No Apologies.